Credit Score After One Missed Payment

[dgperez]

Last year my husband and I were considering buying a house, so we started looking into loans. Our credit was checked twice in April, and we were told it was great! Over 720. Ultimately, we decided to rent for another year. We opened a new credit card with a $1000 limit this past July. In October, I was rushed to the hospital at 32 weeks pregnant and had an emergency c-section, which has been 100% covered by insurance. With us rushing back and forth from the NICU and trying to help me recover, my husband accidentally paid one of the credit cards late. According to Turbo, his score is now 527 because of that single late payment.
Why???
And how can we raise it? Thanks!

[_brian]

Hey @dgperez - that's a tough situation, but likely a fixable one!

I'd start by reviewing your full credit info, are you sure that 1 missed payment was the only thing that changed? Inquiries, new cards, credit utilization (how much you've put on your credit card and haven't paid off yet), and other things impact the credit score. 

One thing you might want to try is to call that credit card company and ask if they'll remove that single missed payment from your report. Folks have had success with that in the past, and as long as your account is in good standing, they may be willing to help. A couple minutes on the phone could go a long way 🙂

Hope that helps and let me know how it works out!